Hot, quite worried and slightly drunk: what UK consumers did with their money in August
August was another tough month for retail. The hottest late August bank holiday ever stopped shoppers buying new autumn fashion ranges, kept them out of home goods stores and was generally bad for non-food. Even grocery failed to show much growth, struggling against strong comparatives from August 2018. ConsumerCast also estimates that holiday spend abroad (a big category in August worth over £6bn) faltered, following the trend for decline set earlier in the year.
Only two areas saw growth. One was restaurants, pubs and hotels, boosted by a boozy bank holiday weekend. Unfortunately the other one was saving, with UK households putting aside an estimated £2.5bn compared with August last year.
So despite receiving a strong boost to net income (up £4.3bn to £100.3bn), hot weather and growing anxiety about the future of the UK economy and job prospects due to Brexit held back spending by British consumers.
To find out more about ConsumerCast’s upcoming Monthly UK Consumer Overview, get in touch on 07980 860301.